Cure Temp/Time Calculator
Find the conveyor belt speed for your dryer's tunnel length and your target cure time, plus a typical ink-surface temperature to aim for.
Dryer settings
Belt speed, tunnel length, and dwell time
A conveyor dryer's cure time is really a dwell time — however long the print spends traveling through the heated tunnel at a given belt speed. Slowing the belt down increases dwell time; speeding it up shortens it. Once you know how long your ink needs at temperature, the tunnel length tells you the belt speed that delivers exactly that dwell.
Reaching temperature and holding it are two different things — a dryer set far hotter than needed can still under-cure a thick deposit that passes through too quickly to fully heat all the way through.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is belt speed calculated from cure time?
A conveyor dryer cures a print for however long it spends inside the heated tunnel. Belt speed in feet per minute equals the tunnel length in feet divided by the cure time in minutes — so a longer tunnel or a shorter target cure time both call for a faster belt.
Why does the target temperature matter more than the dryer's dial setting?
The dryer's set or air temperature is not the same as the temperature the ink itself reaches. Plastisol needs to reach roughly 320°F (160°C) at the ink surface to fully gel and cure — a fast belt through a hot tunnel can still under-cure a thick deposit if it doesn't dwell long enough to bring the ink itself up to temperature.
How do I know if a print is actually cured?
The standard check is a stretch-and-wash test: stretch the cured print — properly cured plastisol will show fine cracks in the ink surface that don't peel, while under-cured ink can crack through or lift off the fabric. A few wash cycles are the real proof.
Do water-based and discharge inks cure the same way as plastisol?
The mechanism differs — plastisol gels into a solid film, while water-based and discharge inks cure by driving off water and, for discharge, activating a chemical that removes the fabric's dye. Both still depend on reaching an adequate temperature for long enough, which is why this tool gives a separate target temperature per ink type.
General guidance only — not a substitute for your ink's technical data sheet. Confirm cure with a stretch-and-wash test, and use a temperature strip or infrared gun on the ink surface, not just the dryer's set temperature.